Easyjet has made an official statement that it will create 2, 500 jobs and will double its presence at London Luton Airport if the Government allows expansion plans to be put into motion.
One of the goals that Easyjet has set in front of itself is to increase its passenger numbers from 4 million to 9 million in the period of one year. Also, the company is planning to include more destinations.
However, these plans partially depend on advancements that are supposed to be implemented by the airport. There are demands, coming from campaign groups who want Easyjet to be required to quiet the engines of its planes, as well as avoid night flights.
Currently, the Communities Secretary Eric Pickles is reviewing a decision which was taken at the end of 2013 by the Luton Borough Council which approved increasing airport passengers from 10 million to 18 million per year.
The work is planned to be completed by 2026 and is expected that the airport will have twenty passenger screening lanes, nine luggage reclaim belts and more retail and seating areas. All those changes are aimed to meet the prospective growth in passenger numbers.
Nevertheless, despite the review, Easyjet has signed a new 10-year deal with London Luton airport after the new owners Ardian and AENA have shown a long-term evidence of investment and a dedication to develop the site. At the moment Easyjet has 15 aircraft at the airport and 1, 600 staff. The hopes are that there will be 20% increase in capacity during the upcoming year.
The airport does not have to do a new runway in order to show a real and direct contribution to the need for more airport capacity in the South East. However, other organizations point out to the increasing noise trend at Luton Airport and demand that effective action are taken in order to tackle it. There is nothing bad in creating extra jobs and benefits to passengers but issues like noise should not be ignored. Noise is a kind of pollution and therefore, businesses that create noise have to invest in the alleviation of its effects, as well as have to constrain the hours when noise is made. It is expected that Easyjet will make specific proposals that will balance its announcements in the near future.